Vin awoke suddenly and gazed around the darkened room, looking for whatever it was that had disturbed his slumber. But the only thing he heard was the rain pattering against his window. He closed his eyes and turned over to go to sleep again, then immediately sat up at the faint rhythmic tapping he could hear outside. Curious, he crawled out of bed and approached the window, wondering if there was a tree or bush bumping against the house. His eyes widened in shock when he instead found a person standing outside his window.
Backpedaling, Vin was about to run to get Larabee when the face pressed closer to the window and a hand beckoned to him vigorously. He took a step closer, then broke out in a broad grin when he recognized the face. Quietly, he opened the window, sliding the screen up carefully.
“Ezra?” he whispered to the bedraggled figure.
“Hey, Vin,” Ezra whispered back.
“Give me a minute.” He ducked his head back inside and quietly changed back into his clothes. Returning to the window, he climbed over the sill, dropping onto the muddy ground outside. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
The two teenagers ran down the driveway, slowing only when they reached the road.
“How’d you find me?” Vin asked.
Ezra grinned at him tiredly. “Long story.”
“Tell me later,” Vin said with a grin. “Where we headed, anyway?”
“B-bus s-stop,” Ezra said, his teeth chattering in the chill night air.
Vin stopped, putting his hand on his friend’s arm. “You okay?”
“F-fine, j-just cold.”
Frowning, Vin urged Ezra toward a street light up ahead of them, stopping when they were under it. In the dim light, Vin studied his friend, taking in his drenched clothes and the sling supporting his left arm. His hair was plastered to his forehead and water dripped in glistening rivulets down his face. “What happened?”
“S-shoulder dislocated,” Ezra said, his chin quivering in an attempt to suppress the chattering of his teeth. “M-MacDermott.”
“Bastard,” Vin growled. “I should’a hit ‘im some more.”
“I’m okay, V-Vin.”
Vin sighed, hating to see his friend in such discomfort. He was wet and cold himself, but Ezra had obviously been out in the wet weather a lot longer. “Come on. Let’s get goin’.” They started walking again, keeping within sight of the road.
“Why’d you come after me in such shitty weather?” Vin asked. “Ya could’ve waited a while longer.”
“D-Didn’t want you t-to be in-incarcerated on my b-behalf,” Ezra explained.
“Weren’t your fault,” Vin proclaimed adamantly.
“I s-saw MacDermott k-kill Digger,” Ezra said sadly.
“Shit,” Vin said, squeezing the other boy’s uninjured shoulder in support. “That sucks.”
“Y-Yeah,” Ezra agreed. “I s-suspected they w-were k-keeping you t-to question you about th-that.”
They walked in silence for nearly twenty minutes before Vin inquired, “Just how far is this bus stop, Ez?”
“’Bout seven m-more miles,” Ezra replied.
“Aw hell.”
“No, no, no, no, no,” Ezra groaned, banging his forehead repeatedly on the signpost for the bus stop. “Stupid, s-stupid.”
“Stop that!” Vin exclaimed, pulling Ezra away from the pole. “What’s wrong?”
“This b-bus stops r-running at t-two AM,” Ezra explained. “It’s n-nearly three now.”
“Guess we keep walkin’,” Vin said with a sigh.
“S-Sorry,” Ezra said softly, his voice full of remorse. “I should have ch-checked.”
“Don’t worry about it, Ez,” Vin reassured him. “You found me. That’s what’s important.”
Ezra shrugged, then winced as his shoulder protested the movement.
“Maybe we can hitch a ride,” Vin suggested.
“In what?” Ezra said, a small grin forming on his face. They had not seen a single vehicle during their trek thus far on the lonely stretch of road.
Vin shrugged, returning the smile. “Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“M-Maybe.”
They kept walking, watching hopefully for a vehicle to give them a ride. Headlights appeared an hour later, coming toward them. Both boys stopped short, then dove into the bushes by the side of the road the moment they spotted the light bar on top of the vehicle. The last thing they needed was to be picked up by the police.
After the state trooper had passed, Vin sat up and peered around the bush in front of him. “That was close.” He turned to Ezra, frowning at the grimace on his friend’s face. “Ez? You okay?”
“Hit m-my shoulder,” Ezra ground out through clenched teeth.
“Give me your hand,” Vin said, pulling Ezra upright by his good arm. “Come on. We need to get you home.”
Ezra nodded, too tired to speak.
The two teenagers resumed their journey, trudging along the side of the road. Their luck finally turned when a truck approached from behind them. They both turned to face the oncoming vehicle, Vin sticking out his thumb hopefully. The driver apparently took pity on them, slowing to a stop a short distance ahead. Vin and Ezra grinned at each other as they ran toward the big truck.
Vin climbed up into the cab, helping Ezra up behind him. “Thanks, mister,” Vin said gratefully to the middle-aged man behind the wheel. “You got a towel? I don’t want to get your seat all wet.”
The man waved his hand. “Don’t worry ‘bout that. A little water never hurt nothin’.”
“Th-thank you, sir,” Ezra said as he settled in beside Vin.
“Name’s Ken,” the man introduced himself.
“I’m Vin,” Vin relied. “And this is Ezra.”
“Where ya headed?”
“Downtown,” Ezra replied.
“What you boys doin’ out at this time ‘a night, anyhow?” Ken inquired. “Ain’t a fit time for boys your age to be out. Don’t even let my own boy stay out this late.”
“Our f-friends d-deserted us in an unexpected l-location,” Ezra said, quickly fabricating a story.
“Yeah,” Vin said, picking up on what Ezra was doing. “Got pissed at us for somethin’ and ditched us in the woods.”
“Don’t sound much like friends to me,” Ken said with a snort.
“Yeah, they’re assholes,” Vin said.
Ken laughed. “’Least you know it now.”
Vin and Ezra leaned back in the warm cab, listening to Ken talk about his family. Ezra was asleep within minutes, and Vin had to shake him hard to wake him when they had reached the city a half hour later.
“I’m headin’ for an industrial park south o’ town, but I can drop ya ‘long the way,” Ken offered.
Vin scanned the area they were approaching and recognized a street that would take them home. “That street there is close to home.”
Ken nodded and slowed the big rig, pulling to a stop at the street corner.
“Thanks a lot, Ken,” Vin said, shaking the man’s hand.
“Yes, thank you for your kindness,” Ezra said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a soggy twenty-dollar bill. “Please, take this for your trouble.”
Ken held up a hand, shaking his head. “No way, kid. Ain’t no trouble to help out when folks need it. Just be sure you do the same for others when ya can.”
“We will,” Vin said sincerely. “Thanks.”
“You just get yourselves home,” Ken said, waving as they shut the door behind them.
“He was real nice,” Vin commented as they began the final walk home.
“Yes, he was,” Ezra agreed, forcing his tired legs to continue.
“We’re almost home, Ez,” Vin said encouragingly, hearing the weariness in his friend’s voice.
Ezra nodded, focusing only on getting home to his bed.
Thirty minutes later, they arrived back at their home, where Ezra collapsed gratefully into a chair. Vin plugged in their hot plate, heating a pan of water for some hot chocolate. It came to a boil quickly, and Vin immediately swapped it for the space heater. He made two cups of instant cocoa, setting one in front of Ezra.
“Ez, you better get outta them clothes,” Vin said to his friend, who hadn’t moved from his position.
Nodding, Ezra stood and slowly peeled out of his sodden clothing, leaving them in a dripping pile on the floor. He accepted a towel from Vin and awkwardly rubbed at his hair. Vin handed him his sweatpants and one of his new sweatshirts, helping him to put them on, since his sore arm was not cooperating.
“Drink that, Ez,” Vin said, urging his friend to drink the warm liquid. “You’re still shiverin’.”
Ezra gave him a wan smile, his hand shaking slightly as he picked up the mug. “Thanks.”
The room had started to heat up by the time Ezra finished his hot chocolate, and Vin was beginning to feel sleepy himself, so he quickly changed out of his wet clothing, and joined his friend, who had crawled into bed and immediately fallen asleep. Vin turned the heater’s temperature down, so it wouldn’t get too hot, then collapsed onto the mattress himself. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, glad to be back where he belonged.
“Chris!”
Chris awoke to JD’s loud voice. Groggily, he pushed off the blanket and climbed out of bed and growled, “What?” It was only four thirty – way too early to be up and about.
“He’s gone!” JD ran up to meet Chris as he left his room.
“Who’s gone?” Chris asked, searching his sleep-fogged mind to figure out what JD was talking about.
“Vin,” JD said, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “He’s not in his room.”
Chris followed his young friend down the hall to the guest room where Vin had been staying. The clothes Vin had worn to bed were folded neatly on the edge of the bed, but there was no sign of the teenager.
“Shit,” Chris said, running a hand through his hair. “Did you check the barn?”
JD nodded vigorously. “Yeah, that was the first place I looked, since you told me he liked the horses.”
They made a quick search through the house and yard, but the missing boy was nowhere to be found.
Picking up the phone, Chris called Buck.
“What?” came the sleepy voice over the phone.
“Vin bolted on us,” Chris said abruptly.
There was a brief pause, then Buck sighed. “Shit. Did JD get anything out of him that might tell us where he went?”
“Not really,” Chris said. “Only found out that the kid knows a little about martial arts – nothin’ about Digger.”
“I s’pose we’re gonna go lookin’ for him?”
“Yeah,” Chris replied. “I need to find out what Digger wanted to tell me. He may have been killed because of it. And Vin could be in danger if he knows anything about it.”
“He take anything with him?”
Chris heard the weary cynicism in his old friend’s voice and forced himself to reign in his own doubts. “Doesn’t look like anything’s missing. He even left behind the clothes we let him use.”
“Wasn’t your fault, Chris,” Buck said, familiar with the guilt he heard in his friend’s voice.
Chris sighed. “I still need to find the kid.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at the office.”
“Okay.” Chris shut off the phone and turned to JD. “Did you hear anything last night?”
“No,” JD said regretfully. “I checked on him at around one o’clock, when I got up to use the bathroom, and he was still sleeping.”
“That means he left sometime in the last few hours or so.” Chris tapped his chin thoughtfully. “If he was walking, he may not have gotten all the way back to town yet.”
“Unless he hitched a ride,” JD pointed out. “He might already be back wherever it is that he sleeps in the city.”
“Yeah,” Chris said. “But we know which neighborhoods he hangs out in, so it shouldn’t take long to find him.”
The two agents hurried off to get dressed, determined to find the missing boy.
A harsh noise woke Vin from a deep sleep, and he turned over to find Ezra lying curled on his side, trying hard to stifle a fit of coughing. Pushing himself up, he crawled to the corner where they kept their medical supplies and rummaged around until he found a bottle of cough medicine. Both he and Ezra had suffered colds last winter and always tried to keep some medicine on hand.
“Here, Ez,” Vin said, handing the bottle to his stricken friend.
“Thanks,” Ezra rasped hoarsely.
“You sound like shit,” Vin said with a frown.
Ezra rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue – now stained red by the cough syrup – at him.
A quick check of the clock had Vin looking at Ezra’s watch for confirmation. It was almost eleven o’clock – long past the hour at which he usually awakened. He must have been nearly as tired as Ezra when they finally got home last night.
Vin turned back to his friend. “You feelin’ okay?”
“Been better,” Ezra said.
“Thanks for comin’ after me,” Vin said, belatedly realizing he had not thanked his friend yet.
“I wasn’t about to leave you there,” Ezra said. “Law enforcement officials are not always the nicest individuals, especially concerning people like us.”
“Yeah,” Vin agreed, having encountered his share of uncaring or belligerent police officers. “These guys were okay, though.”
Ezra looked at him, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.
Vin shrugged. “They gave me my own room to sleep in and were gonna let me ride the horses this weekend. They weren’t like none of the others.” He sighed. “’Course, they took my knife away when they brought me in. I didn’t get a chance to ask for it back.”
“We can get you another knife.,” Ezra said. “I’m simply glad they were decent people. I was worried that you were being mistreated because of me.”
“Wasn’t your fault,” Vin insisted. “Just got caught in a bad situation, is all. MacDermott’s the one you should blame.”
Ezra’s face paled slightly at the mention of the drug dealer’s name. “You are correct, I suppose.”
Deciding to change the subject, Vin said, “So, how’d you find me, anyway?”
Ezra chuckled and haltingly explained everything he had done to locate Vin.
“Shit, Ez,” Vin said, shaking his head in admiration. “I should’a figured you were smart enough to find out where I was.”
“It wasn’t that difficult, since I had Mr. Larabee’s name to work with,” Ezra said.
“How did you know which room I was sleepin’ in?” Vin asked. “Would’a been interesting if you’d been caught peekin’ in the wrong window.”
“I watched the house for a while,” Ezra answered, “and I even chanced a quick look into the living room to determine how many people were in the house with you. You were apparently already in bed at that time, so I simply watched which lights came on when the other two went to bed. Process of elimination.”
“I’m glad you found me,” Vin said. “I was waitin’ for the right time to take off. They kept checkin’ up on me night before last, and probably last night, too. Figured I’d wait ‘til they let their guard down a little more.” He smiled. “It’s good to be home.”
“Indeed,” Ezra said, covering his mouth as he yawned widely.
“Why don’t you get some more sleep?” Vin suggested. “I’ll go get us something to eat.”
“Be careful, Vin,” Ezra cautioned him. “If those agents are aware of your absence, they will probably be looking for you in this area.”
“Yeah,” Vin agreed with a sigh. “I figure we should both lay low for a while. MacDermott’s pals ain’t gonna be too happy with neither of us right now, so we’d best avoid bein’ seen.”
Grimacing, Ezra nodded his agreement before dropping his head back onto his pillow and pulling the blankets up to his chin.
Changing into his clothes, Vin grabbed the still-damp twenty-dollar bill from Ezra’s pocket and headed out the door. His senses were especially alert, watching for any signs of law enforcement or MacDermott’s associates. During the time they had been living in their basement, both he and Ezra had been careful not to be seen entering or leaving. It was much safer for them if no one knew where they lived. Competition for places to sleep was fierce among the homeless, and they had worked hard to keep their home a secret. They avoided associating with most of the other homeless people and their place was located somewhat outside of the popular area for others to congregate, which had allowed them to escape notice most of the time.
There did not seem to be anyone lurking about, so Vin hurried toward his destination, keeping to the shadows of the buildings while his eyes continuously scanned the area for any sign of a threat. Upon reaching the diner, he took one last look around before ducking inside. He took a seat at the counter and waited for Rosie to notice him.
“Vin!” Rosie exclaimed, rushing toward him. “Are you all right, dear?”
“I’m fine, Miz Rosie,” Vin said, embarrassed by the fuss she was making.
“I was so worried about you when Ezra told me what happened,” she said.
“Everything’s all right now, ma’am,” Vin reassured her. “Ezra found me and got me back home.”
“That’s wonderful,” Rosie said with a smile. “How is Ezra doing? Poor boy looked a bit worse for wear yesterday.”
“He’s got a cold now,” Vin said. “Probably from bein’ out in the rain last night. I wanted to get some of your chicken soup for ‘im.” He pulled the money from his pocket.
Rosie waved the money away. “You keep that, dear. You both do more work than what I pay you for around here. I’ll fix you something nice.” Without giving him a chance to object, Rosie bustled off into her kitchen.
Vin grinned, shaking his head. He hadn’t expected that she would let him pay for anything, but he had to offer. He looked around, checking the patrons of the bar for familiar faces. At the other end of the counter, he spotted Mr. Watson, and decided to go talk to him.
“Hi, Mr. Watson,” Vin said. “Sorry I haven’t been around the last couple of days.”
“Don’t you worry about that, Vin,” Mr. Watson said. “I heard about what happened. I’m glad you boys are okay.”
“We’re fine, sir,” Vin said. “Just a case of bein’ in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Mr. Watson nodded. “It’s a shame about Digger. He was a nice old fellow.”
“Yeah,” Vin agreed.
“Can’t say I’ll much miss that lowlife, MacDermott,” he said with a frown. “It’s about time that hoodlum got what was coming to him.”
“Me and Ez ain’t gonna miss him, either,” Vin said, a dark look flashing in his eyes.
“Is Ezra feeling any better?” Mr. Watson asked, his forehead wrinkling in concern. “His arm looked like it was hurting him some when he came by the shop yesterday.”
“He’s doing better,” Vin said. “Got himself a cold, though.”
“Well, you make sure he gets enough rest,” Mr. Watson instructed. “Won’t do himself any good if he pushes himself too soon.”
“I’ll tell him,” Vin said with a grin, knowing how embarrassed Ezra would be when he discovered that Mr. Watson and Rosie were worried about him.
“Vin?” Rosie came out of the kitchen with a big bag, looking around the diner for him.
“Over here,” Vin said with a wave.
Rosie smiled and made her way toward him. “Here you go, dear.” She handed Vin the bag. “There’s some hot soup and sandwiches for you and Ezra.” Placing one hand on her hip, she waved her finger at him, admonishing him sternly, “You boys make sure you finish all of it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Vin said, giving her a salute. “Thank you.”
“Go on, now.” Rosie smiled, shooing him out the door.
Vin smiled to himself as he left the diner. It was nice to have friends like Rosie and Mr. Watson. In fact, he and Ezra had often wondered at the collection of good people in this neighborhood who went out of their way to help a couple of kids like them. The proud and hardworking residents of the area were not wealthy, but they did the best they could to make their neighborhood comfortable and safe. Interlopers like MacDermott nipped at the fringes of the area, looking for new inroads to ply their despicable trade. It was difficult, but the people had managed to keep the worst of them at bay. Still, it was a constant struggle, and there were some battles that they would not win, some who would be lost to the call of drugs and crime.
Vin and Ezra counted themselves lucky to have found their way into this area instead of one of the more disreputable neighborhoods located only a short distance away. Their lives would have been much more difficult without these fine people giving them a helping hand. They would have survived, both of them being too stubborn to give up easily, even in the face of such adversity, but it would not have been an easy task. Accepting help from the generous residents of the neighborhood had been quite an adjustment for them, since neither was used to people being nice to them without wanting something in return, but they both eventually learned to trust in the friendship being offered.
Shaking his musings away, Vin had just started across the street when he caught sight of a familiar black truck approaching from several blocks away. “Shit!” he cursed aloud as he cast about wildly for a place to hide. Seeing nothing that would conceal him, he turned back the way he came, pushing back inside Rosie’s diner and into the kitchen in the back.
“Back so soon, Vin?” Rosie said, surprised to see him back.
“There’s some people looking for me,” Vin explained. “I kind’a ran away from those ATF cops who picked me up the other night.”
“I see,” Rosie said thoughtfully. “What do they want with you?”
“They think I know who killed Digger,” Vin explained after a moment’s hesitation, not wanting to drag her into the situation.
“Do you?”
“Um, sort of,” Vin said tentatively, craning his neck to peer out the window for any sign of Larabee or his friends.
“Well?” Rosie looked at him sternly, waiting for an answer.
“I didn’t see it, but MacDermott killed ‘im,” Vin stated.
“And how do you know that?”
Vin sighed, looked at his feet, and said softly, “’Cause Ezra saw him do it.”
“Ah,” Rosie said, beginning to understand. “And you don’t want Ezra to have to tell them about it?”
“No,” Vin said, then looked at her pleadingly. “It ain’t that I don’t want MacDermott to pay for what he done, but Ez don’t need to go through that. It was rough enough on him, as it is... and they’d never let us stay together afterward, ya know?”
Rosie’s eyes softened as she looked at him and she said, “You go on and hide in the back if you see them coming for you.”
“Thanks, ma’am,” Vin said, feeling a flood of relief. He didn’t want to end up back in the clutches of the system, which was exactly what would happen if Larabee caught up with him, or if Ezra testified against MacDermott. It wasn’t fair to Digger, but Vin had learned long ago that life was rarely fair and that the bad guys often knew how to work the system in their favor, twisting it to suit their needs, while people like him and Ezra just ended up as its victims. For them, the best thing to do was to stay under the radar of the law and those who might curtail their freedom or split them apart. As far as he was concerned, Ezra was his brother, and brothers took care of each other.
Vin’s grinning face was the first thing Ezra saw when he lifted his head from his pillow. Groaning, he dropped back into the softness.
“Want something to eat?” Vin asked.
“Not particularly,” Ezra replied. His throat was starting to hurt and the thought of trying to swallow anything was distinctly unappealing.
“Rosie sent over some chicken soup and sandwiches.” Vin pointed to the bag sitting on the table. “She’ll be pissed if’n we don’t eat it all.”
Ezra sighed. He certainly didn’t want Rosie getting angry with him. She had quite a temper and could wield a broom with the best of them. Reluctantly, he dragged himself out of his warm bed and over to the table where Vin had laid out their meal.
“Here,” Vin said, pushing a steaming bowl of soup in front of him.
Ezra started in on the soup, relieved that it did not irritate his sore throat very much. He passed on the sandwiches, though, telling Vin in a hoarse voice, “You can have both. My throat hurts too much to eat that.”
“Why don’t we trade?” Vin offered. “You have my share of the soup, instead.”
Ezra nodded, thought he wasn’t very hungry. He knew it would worry both Vin and Rosie if he didn’t eat it all.
“Saw Mr. Watson at the diner,” Vin said conversationally. “He was askin’ about ya, too – hoped you were feeling better.”
Ezra lifted an eyebrow as if to say, “Yeah, right.”
Vin shook his head in exasperation. Ezra still seemed to have trouble believing that anyone cared about him. While both of them had led a hard life, Vin had at least experienced the luxury of a caring mother and some wonderful foster parents, even if only for a short time. From what Ezra had told him, there were few, if any, people in his past who had ever cared about him or wanted him around. Even his own mother had abandoned him, so it was no surprise that he had difficulty believing anyone else gave a damn about what happened to him. It had even taken Vin a long time to convince him that he was a real friend who wouldn’t ditch him at the earliest opportunity.
“They were worried, Ez,” Vin repeated. “Mr. Watson told me to make sure you got plenty of rest.”
Ezra shrugged, his cheeks reddening slightly at the thought of the concern being directed at him.
“Some bad news, though,” Vin said. “I saw Larabee’s truck drivin’ around the neighborhood.”
Ezra’s head snapped up and he looked at Vin with alarm, opening his mouth to speak.
Vin cut him off before he could say a word. “Don’t worry, he didn’t see me. Rosie let me hide in back when they drove by.” He dropped his head slightly, sending Ezra a guilty look. “I had to tell her why they were lookin’ for me – told her about what you saw.”
Ezra’s eyes widened in surprise, then he nodded, reaching out to squeeze Vin’s arm in support. “It’s okay. You did what you had to.”
“Rosie understands, I think,” Vin said. “She won’t tell ‘em anything.”
“I agree,” Ezra said. “I don’t believe she cares much for the police.”
Vin grinned. “Yeah. I’ll just have to be real careful when I go out.”
Ezra shook his head. “You should stay here, where it’s safe.”
“Ez,” Vin said with a sigh. “One of us has to go out for food and stuff, and there’s still work to be done.”
Ezra began to shake his head and protest, but Vin would not be dissuaded.
“You ain’t goin’ anywhere, Ez,” Vin stated adamantly. “You’re too sick to be out working and in case you forgot, MacDermott’s friends might come lookin’ for you, too... and you ain’t in any condition to fight ‘em off.”
“It’s not safe to be out on your own,” Ezra pleaded.
“I’ll be careful, Ez,” Vin assured him. “I can be real sneaky when I want, remember?”
Ezra sighed, knowing he would not win this argument. “All right, but I want to go to the library with you later.”
“Tomorrow, Ez,” Vin countered. “You need some rest.”
Chewing his lip pensively, Ezra finally gave him a slow nod. “Deal,” he said, holding out his hand with a weak smile.
“Deal,” Vin agreed, shaking his best friend’s hand.
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